MARION COUNTY, Fla. — Dozens of migrant workers continue to recover after investigators say their bus was hit by a pickup truck on State Road 40 in Marion County Tuesday morning.

The driver of that pickup truck, Bryan Howard, is facing eight DUI manslaughter charges, one for each of the victims killed in the crash.

The Rev. Eloise Otero, a pastor with Tomoka Christian Church, said while many of the workers might be out of the hospital, they’re still dealing with injuries, difficulties communicating with family back in Mexico, and figuring out what happens next.

Otero is often organizing support for the migrant worker community, which includes gathering food through the church’s location in Ormond Beach. But after a traumatizing crash like the one that dozens of workers went through in Marion County, Otero said there’s also an emotional and spiritual need.

She says when she met up with the workers, it was obvious they were still processing the horror of what happened. 

“Sadness, despair, unbelief — they can’t believe what happened to them,” Otero said.

Otero said she’s compelled to help others in need.

“I think there are basic human needs that we know to show empathy to one another, and if I can be that for someone, then I’m more than willing to show the love that God has shown me to anybody that I need to,” she said.

She traveled to a hotel in Gainesville where she visited with several of the workers who survived the deadly bus crash — some of whom had just recently been released from the hospital. 

“One of them got up and was limping on his leg, and he was one of the ones that was going back to the hospital because they were released without any type of medication, not even ibuprofen," Otero said. "And again, they don’t have any money."

She said pain relief was not the greatest need of some of the workers. Several of them lost their phones in the crash and hadn’t yet been able to call their families back in Mexico to tell them they were alive.

Otero and other faith leaders gathered phones to help them make those calls.

Migrant workers often send money they earn back to their families to support them, but with that work stopped for now, Otero said their families’ futures are uncertain.

“I know some of them, their visas expire next month, and are those people going to be sent back to Mexico without any help?" she asked. "There are a lot of questions unanswered and these people need help, a lot of help."